Evaporative condenser



May 6, 1952 I A. LEE ET AL 2,595,589

E-VAFORATIVE CONDENSER Filed March '7, 1950 2 SHEETSSHEET l |t| l' u M W n II II I ll M 'H' 'H' m I'LL: itizrr: n w L] [1 l /l i w 0 1 0 a" /E I 3 l it Q INVENTORS AARON LEE, BYEu LIEBERMAN,

A TTOR/VE Y6 y 6, 1952 A. LEE ETAL EVAPORATIVE CONDENSER 2 SHEETS--SHEET 2 Filed March '7, 1950 Patented May 5, 1952 UNITED STATES ?ATENT OFFICE EVAPORATIVE CONDENSER Aaron Lee and Eli Lieberman, Miami Beach, Fla.

Application March 7, 1950, Serial No. 148,212

Claims.

This invention relates to evaporative condensers. Its primary object is to provide a device of this character of the utmost simplicity of construction, and yet of a very high degree of emciency.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the appended drawings, wherein,

Figure l is a front elevation of the device of the invention with parts broken away and with some of the conventional parts diagrammatically indicated,

Figure 2 is a vertica1 section upon line 2--2 of Figure l, and

Figure 3 is a horizontal fragmentary sectional View through a pair of the concentric tubes and illustrating a spray means associated therewith.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts in all of the figures of the drawings.

The condenser of the present invention coinprises a somewhat tall and narrow casing 5 which is spanned near its top by a wall 6, and which wall together with the back Wall E and front wall 3 of the casing, constitutes a water-receiving pan 9. A removable door it) closes an opening I! of the front wail of the casing. Removal of this door permits entry to the interior of the casing for inspection and cleaning of the parts housed therein. This is desirable because the eificiency of evaporative condensers is in part dependent upon keeping the heat exchange surfaces clean. The lower part of the casing serves as a water reservoir to which replenishment water is delivered through a waterpipe 52. A conventional float valve :3 maintains the water level at any desired point. The condensing and evaporating surfaces of the device are provided by a battery of pairs of tubes and a tube of each pair, indicated at 13, opens through the plate 6 which constitutes the bottom of the pan 9 so that water delivered into said pan may fall through these inner tubes in a film and along the walls of these inner tubes. The outer tubes I4 which are preferably concentric with the inner tubes l3 surround said inner tubes throughout the major portion of their length and are welded or otherwise secured to said inner tubes at their upper and lower ends as at l5 and It. If the device is being used to condense the hot gas from a conventional refrigerating unit the hot gas is delivered through pipe ll passing into the upper part of the space between the tubes of the first pair of tubes as indicated at I8, thence through a connecting pipe I!) to the lower part of the space between the next pair of tubes, thence through a, connecting pipe to the upper part of the space between the next pair of tubes, and

so on, until the condensed cooled and liquified product passes out of the discharge pipe 2! to be returned to the'refrigerating unit (not shown) in the usual way. A water pump 22 circulates water from the lower part of the casing through pipe 23 into the pan 9. The branch water line 24 delivers Water to a plurality of spraying rosettes 25 which encircle the pairs of tubes near their upper ends, and which rosettes serve to spray water downwardly in a film over the outer tubes through nozzles 25a and also serve to discharge a water mist into the air through nozzles 251) (Fig. 3), as presently set forth.

By referring to Figure 2, it will be seen that the rear wall of the casing 5 is provided with an ofiset recess 26. The inner end of an air exhaust conduit 2! is connected to this offset portion of the casing and an air blower 28 draws air from the compartment 29 within the recessed portion and delivers it through an exhaust duct 38 to the exterior atmosphere.

With the blower 28 in operation, air is drawn downwardly through the open top of pan 9 through the inner tubes and out of the lower ends of said inner tubes into the lower portion of casing 5. Then the air reverses its flow and travels upwardly around the tubes, being confined relatively closely to said tubes in its upward travel by the narrowness of the casing, until the air reachesthe level of the offset wall 26; then the air passes out of the conduit 21 to blower 28 and'dis'charge duct 30.

Thus it will'be seen that the air which passes downwardly through the inner tubes travels with the water flowing through'said tubes and thereby the inner surfaces of the inner tubes are subjected to the cooling effect of the water-flow and the water evaporation. In like manner the outer surfaces of the outer tubes are subjected to the cooling effect of the water-flow and the evaporative action which takes place around and about them. The whole casing being filled with water mist exerts a further evaporative action. The net result is that we secure the desired cooling and condensing of the hot gas with the use of the very' simple and inexpensive parts shown. What is equally importnt is that we do this by a continual re-circulation of the water which falls into-the bottom of the casing through the inner tubes. The only water which passes from pipe 12 past the float valve is water of replenish ment.

We are aware of the fact that it is quite common to pass hot gases, to be condensed through passages subjected to water Sprayers. However, in most of these systems the water after once 3 passing over these surfaces has been permitted to waste off to the sewer. The air drawn in through the open top of the pan 9 is moved with considerable velocity downwardly through the inner tubes and accelerates the flow of water along the inner face of the tubes. As stated, this air accelerates the evaporation of the water and a strong cooling eifect is noticed in these tubes. The air flowing over the water level as it reverses its path evaporates still more water; then, as before explained, the air flows upwardly past the outsides of the outer tubes evaporating still more water. By the time the air leaves the system through duct 30, it is almost' fully saturated.

This accounts for the great efiiciency of the device because the whole operation is dependent upon evaporation of water.

A feature of advantage incident to the arrangement wherein the upper ends of the inner tubes are exposed at the bottom of pan 9, is that a wire brush may be readily run down through the inner tubes, and thus these condensing surfaces may be cleaned in less than a minute. Further the disposition of the water pan 9 beneath a battery of tubes from which water forcibly falls under the combined action of gravity and the downwardly flowing air, results in consider able agitation of the water in pan 9 and aids in the creation of the aqueous mist within the casing. Since the action desired is the evaporation of as much water as possible the described assembly is found to be much more efiicient than in cases where the flow of air and water within the inner tubes is countercurrent with relation to each other.

We-wish it to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise'construction set forth, but that it includes within its purview whatever changes fairly come within either the terms or the spirit of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. In a condenser of the character described the combination with a closed chamber, a pair of tubes disposed in said chamber one of which is disposed in and lies in spaced relation to the other, means for conducting a hot gas to and from the space between said tubes, a water receptacle into which the upper end of the inner of said tubes opens so that water from said receptacle may fall in a film through and along the inner wall of said inner tube, a lower water receiving compartment in the closed chamber and disposed below the lower end of said inner tube, into which the water from said tube falls, a blower disposed to draw air downwardly through the inner tube along with the water film passing therethrough and to then draw the air to and eject it from the upper portion of the closed chamber, means for automatically supplying Water to the lower water receiving compartment in a quantity suflicient to compensate for the water lost by evaporation, means for delivering water from the lower water compartment into the upper receptacle and for also delivering a spray of water against and downwardly along the outer face of the outer of said tubes.

2. In a condenser of the character described the combination with a chamber having a, water receiving receptacle extending across and closing its top, of a battery of condensing units extending downwardly within the casing, each of said units comprising an inner and an outer tube, the upper ends of the inner tubes opening into said water receiving receptacle, means for circulating water from the lower portion of the casing into said receptacle; means for connecting the spaces between the several sets of tubes to constitute a path serially for gas to be condensed, through the spaces which lie between the respective inner and outer tubes; means for maintaining a determined water level in the lower portion of the casing and means for inducing flow of air downwardly through the inner tubes and thence upwardly around the outer tubes, and means for spraying water from the lower portion of the casing over the surfaces of the outer tubes.

3. An evaporative condenser comprising a relatively tall and narrow casing, a water receptacle extending across the length of the top of said casing, a plurality of condensing units spaced across the width of the casing and extending vertically therein and each comprising an inner and an outer tube, the upper ends of the inner tubes opening into said water receptacle; means for maintaining a determined water level'in the bottom of the casing, the lower ends of said inner tubes terminating a material distance above said water level, said outer tubes being spaced from and concentric with the inner tubes and secured thereto to constitute chambers about the inner tubes; means for connecting the chambers of the several condensing units to form a path serially for gas to be condensed, therethrough; means for circulating water from the bottom of the casing to the water receptacle at the top of the casing; means for spraying water upon the exterior surfaces of the outer tubes of the several condensing units from the lower portion of the casing and for creating an aqueous mist within the casing, an offset extension upon one wall of the casing, the interior of which opens into the casing and the bottom of which lies near the top of the casing and an air conduit connected to the space within said extension, and an air moving means in said conduit, said air moving means drawing air downwardly through the inner tubes, then upwardly around the outer tubes and then over into said extension as and for the purposes set forth.

4. An evaporative condenser comprising a relatively tall and narrow. casing, a water receptacle extending across the length of the top of said casing, a plurality of condensing units spaced across the width of the casing and extending vertically therein and each comprising an inner and an outer tube, the upper ends of the inner tubes opening into said water receptacle; means for maintaining a determined water level in the bottom of the casing, the lower ends of said inner tubes terminating a material distance above said water level, said outer tubes being spaced from and concentric with the inner tubes and secured thereto to constitute chambers about the inner tubes; means for connecting the chambers of the several condensing units to form a path serially for gas to be condensed, therethrough; means for circulating water from the bottom of the casing to the water receptacle at the top of the casing; means for spraying water upon the exterior surfaces of the outer tubes of the several condensing units and air moving means connected to the upper portion of the casing at a point laterally ofifset with. respect to the vertical planes of the tubes of the condensing units so that air passing from the lower ends of the inner tubes is caused to travel obliquely across the casing to the air moving means.

5. In a condenser of the character described the combination with a chamber, the lower part of which is closed to constitute a water receiving 5 compartment, means for maintaining a determined level of water in said compartment, an upper Water pan spanning and closing the top of said casing, a battery of condensing units depending from the underside of said pan each of which comprises an inner and outer tube of such respective diameters to leave spaces between them, means for serially connecting the spaces between the said tubes to provide a serial path for gas to be condensed, the upper ends of the inner tubes projecting through the bottom of and opening into said upper water pan, means for circulating water from the bottom water compartment into said upper water pan and thence gravitally through the inner tubes back into the lower water receiving compartment, said compartment being dimensioned to underlie all of the said inner tubes, and air moving means connected to the upper portion of the casing and acting to draw the air and water together through the inner tubes, and means for discharging water upon the outside of the outer tubes.

AARON LEE.

ELI LIEBERMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED s'rATEs PATENTS Number Name Date 1,537,271 Stromback May 12, 1925 2,488,116 Berlowitz Nov. 15, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 11,268 Great Britain July 13, 1889 268,501 Germany Dec. 5, 1912 

